EMN
DIMAPUR, JANUARY 17
The Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA), Home Department in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Department of Health and Family Welfare (DoH&FW) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) organized a two-day training on Emergency Mass Casualty Management in Kohima on January 16 and 17. Addressing the gathering during the inaugural programme Sentiyanger Imchen, Commissioner & Secretary H&FW, stated that the best way to face disasters is to be prepared. Stressing on the need for an organised response to disasters he said that Mass Casualty Management is a very important topic in the event of a major disaster.
Further he thanked the NSDMA for organising the training and urged the participants to take the training with utmost sincerity. Earlier the Inaugural programme was chaired by T Ao, Secretary RR&DM-NSDMA.
The training touched several topics such as the importance of having an emergency preparedness plan, the pre-hospital management, the triage system, the basic and advanced life support and a final table top exercise. Resource persons for the training are Sonia Peyrassol (MSF), Dr Asit Misra (NDMA), Amit Tuteja (NDMA), Dr Anish Banerjee (NDMA) and Kholie Dolf (Red Cross).
During the training programme a representative of the NDMA Amit Tuteja shared the mandate of the NDMA and emphasised on the disaster management planning policies and guidelines and institutionalization of the same. He also emphasised on the importance of disaster management training programmes including the aspects of hospital safety & disaster management planning and mass casualty management.
It may be mentioned here that NDMA is already holding the capacity building programmes and Emergency Management Exercises (EMEX) in urban cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati and Jorhat.
These EMEX cover various aspects of disaster preparedness while also addressing all important Emergency Support Functions (ESFs).
Further he hoped that this two-day training will set the tone for safe Nagaland especially in terms of Hospital safety and Mass Casualty Management.
MSF International Emergency Preparedness specialist, Sonia Peyrassol, who conducted parts of the training, said “Nagaland, as every other place, has to be prepared to cope with disasters that could strike the state. Everyone is thinking about a big earthquake while many other smaller disasters occur regularly in the state, such as landslides, fires, bus accidents and even bomb blast, but also internecine clashes. MSF is very pleased to have collaborated with the NSDMA and the NDMA for all the support which made this training possible.”
The Médecins Sans Frontières /Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is an independent international medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, healthcare exclusion and natural disasters in more than 65 countries.
MSF offers healthcare to people based only on need and irrespective of race, religion, gender or political affiliation. The MSF in partnership with the Department of Health and Family Welfare has been supporting Mon District Hospital since 2010.
An initial 3 years Memorandum of Understanding was signed in July 2010 and an extension for one year was agreed this year, bringing the collaboration between MSF and the DoH&FW to an end in July 2014.
MSF received the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development in 1996 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999.
